Speaker 1Shut up, and sit down. Welcome to Being On Stage, the only podcast that gives you motivation, inspiration, and confidence to be better on stage. No matter how you entertain, sing, dance, band, comedian, public speaking, MC, drag, burlesque, performance art, or street performer, this is the show for you.
Speaker 2Hey, rock stars, Reggie Dawson, welcome back to the Being On Stage podcast. And, if you're listening in real time, meaning you download these episodes as they come out, happy 4th of July, happy Independence Day. I'm on the roll of doing podcasts every day, and yes, it's just the 4th of the month, but I have to stick to it. And I'll tell you, going into today, I was thinking about what in the world should the podcast be about on the 4th of July. So, you know, I start overthinking it, as we all do. You know, we all, when we're starting to put together a show, or a performance, or, you know, whatever it is that you do on stage, or however you present your talent to the world, you know, we start overthinking it and trying to add more meaning into it and everything. So, I'm thinking, okay, I gotta tie in independence, and our countries fight for our independence, and how we whipped the crap out of those Britons back in the day, and how, you know, we. We won our independence, and we said no to the man, and no to the taxes, and all the things that were being opposed on us. And I'm thinking, oh God, I gotta tie all this into the podcast, so independence, and winning your battles, and everything like that. And I just could not, for the life of me, come up with any way to tie independence into performing. I mean, other than to say, hey, you perform independently of others' opinions, and that would be a good one, I think. You know, talking about how. You should live your life, and present your talent, and be you on stage, and be independent of everyone else, and everyone else's opinions. And that's actually a really solid one. But it didn't stick, you know. I said pretty much everything that I needed to say right there in that, what was it, 30 seconds of that topic? And, you know, maybe another time I could dive in. But I'll tell you, trying to come up with something for a specific purpose, for a specific reason, like to add meaning to something. That you don't immediately have meaning in, that is a tongue twister and a brain teaser. So, what I mean to say is, if you're trying to add meaning to something, or to force meaning into one of your performances, you gotta stop. Because it's not gonna work out. And if it does work out, it's not gonna be passionate, and it's not gonna be real, and it's not gonna be authentic, and it's not even gonna be you. It's gonna be this, you know. Hyped up version of yourself, this popular, trending, thinking, trend-thinking, pop-thinking, whatever, version of yourself. And we're back to where we were yesterday in the Stop Giving, or two days ago? I don't know, it was a couple of pod. I did a podcast, like two podcasts back, called Stop Giving People What You Want. And that's basically the same episode, right there. What I just said, all that. So I can't add meaning where there is none. And yes, it's the 4th of July. And, you know, it's Independence Day and everything. And that does have a very strong meaning. So, what I started doing then was thinking about stories I could tell. What kind of stories could I tell you about when I've performed for 4th of July? And I've racked my brains, and I've done a few performances to honor the military. And I could tell you those stories, but they're really quite boring. I could tell you a few dates around July 4th that I've performed, and some of the themes of the shows. Of, you know, freedom. Freedom, and independence, and diversity, and celebrating who you are. And that's all well and good. I could tell you a story about some performances that I've done in the past. And, you know, that's probably to come, eventually, in the month of July. I mean, I'm podcasting every day, so, you know, these topics aren't exactly pre-planned by the month, if you know what I mean. And if you've been listening for any length of time, I think it's fairly obvious that I don't do a whole lot of pre-planning for my podcasts. I really like to just. You know, speak from the heart and the soul, and I have an idea going in most of the time, except for today. So, what I finally settled on talking about, and it probably has nothing to do with the 4th of July, or America's fight for independence. And some of you aren't even. Some of you listening aren't even from the United States, so the 4th of July is just the 4th day of July. You know, this is only a big day for us in America. So, I got to thinking even more about it, and I said, you know. All the performances that I've done, and all the performances that I've created that has the meaning, and where I have spoken from my heart and from my soul, is usually performances that I've done for fundraisers, or some type of bringing awareness to something. And that's kind of what I've settled on for today. And I know I'm 5 minutes in, and I'm just getting into what we're talking about. But it's not going to be a very long episode. I just have a few things to say when it comes to fundraising. And that is. There are so many ways. There are so many ways that you can get paid for performing. I'll send you a list of 10. Go to my website and sign up, beingonstage.com. I'll send you 10 ways to get paid. There's so many ways that you can get paid doing what you do. There are so many different places that you can perform and make money. But. I encourage every single one of you, no matter what you do on stage, sing, dance, juggle, acrobatics, cheerleading, comedy, speaking. Maybe you're just a really passionate person. And you haven't found your way on stage. What I encourage every single one of you to do is to find a way to give back to something. It will breathe new life and new meaning into what you're doing if you can find a way to use it to give back. Whether it's performing at a charity event for no charge to the organization. Whether it's performing for a group of inner city kids that don't get to see a show like what you do. No matter what it is that you do to give back. Even if you're just performing at a festival for a discounted rate. Because it's raising money to help children or help veterans. No matter what it is, find a way to give back. Don't always stay focused on the dollar. Someone very wise and unfortunately no longer with us today told me something that I will never, ever, ever forget. And that is. The moment that we start performing only for the dollar. is the moment that we are no longer human. Think about that. If you are only performing and only focused on doing this so that you can get paid. And you're only looking for ways to get paid and how you can squeeze out a little more money out of what you're doing. You are in it for the wrong reason, my friend. And please stop what you're doing and find a way to give back. Do a show for free. Go perform for some inner city kids. Go perform at a children's hospital if they're let you. Go volunteer. Do something that in no way is going to get you anything in return except gratitude and humility. My very first performance. And I said I wasn't going to tell a story about a performance. And it's not really about a performance. My first performance was for a fundraiser. And for me, originally, it was the best way to get on stage for the first time and not have to worry about how I was doing. It was kind of like a trial run. If you will. But it was for charity. And it was for. We were raising money to send children affected by HIV and AIDS to a camp. Camp Heartland. It's like in. Oh, it's in some Midwestern state. But it's called Camp Heartland. I think they're still around. It's an amazing camp. These kids get to go and be just like everybody else. And that's really what you want for your kids. You want them to be just like everybody else. And I think it was. Yeah, kids affected by HIV and AIDS. And it was a special camp here just for them. And, you know, when I got on stage and I performed, you know, I felt that rush. And I felt that adrenaline wash over me of, oh, my God, I'm doing this. It's amazing. I'm in the spotlight. But when it was over and I took the money that I had earned on stage, because it was a donation as you perform. And sometimes they handed you the money and sometimes they put it in the bucket. I walked away with like $30 in my hand. And there are some performers that would find a way to pocket some of that money. And, unfortunately, I've worked with performers. Unfortunately, I've worked with performers. Where we've put on charity events and the question comes from them is, you know, can I earn tips? Can I put out a bucket? Or is there a way I can make some money off of this? And I'll tell you, when you're 18 years old and you're struggling financially and you just lost your job and all you have is a maxed out credit card to your name, it's really hard to put that $30 in that bucket and to give it back. But I'm happy to report that I did it. I walked away from that charity event with an absolute. with absolutely no money in my pocket. And you know what? It felt really great. Like, because I knew where that money was going. I knew it was going to a good purpose. And so, the whole point of this episode and that little story, and even though I said I wasn't going to tell a story, I told a story. The whole point is, you've got to find a way to give back. You've got to find a way to have an impact on someone other than yourself. Because it feels really, really good. And most importantly, if you're up in that ivory tower. how we're looking down on all these people and thinking that this is just a way for you to get paid and this is just your job jump on down from there join us normal people for a bite to eat and let's give back to some people that really truly need it because let's face it we get to wake up every day and do what we love there are people that are just grateful to wake up every day keep on shining and happy fourth of july
PodcastTranscript AI